On December 6, 2022, a lecture by a FinU alumnus, the Head of Alfa-Bank, Vladimir Verkhoshinsky, took place at the FinU. The meeting with students and teachers was held in the format of a dialogue – a big conversation about career, ambitions and leadership qualities.
The Chief Managing Director of Alfa-Bank was welcomed by the President of the FinU Mikhail Eskindarov, noting that Vladimir Verkhoshinsky has repeatedly been recognized as the banker of the year and today heads one of the largest private commercial banks in Russia.
Throughout his professional career, he has accumulated tremendous experience: before joining Alfa-Bank, Vladimir Verkhoshinsky worked as Vice President, Head of Corporate Development and Strategy at VTB Group. Vladimir also worked in the Moscow offices of CB Citibank, the investment fund VR Capital and the consulting company McKinsey &Co.
During the lecture, Vladimir Verkhoshinsky shared with the participants his personal history of studying at the university, told about studying at Stanford and the specifics of building a career in the banking sector.
The Head of Alfa-Bank highlighted the importance of a proper career start, as well as a combination of hard work and luck to achieve professional heights. “You should be lucky in life. Especially at the start. You are all lucky, because you are students of the FinU,” Vladimir Verkhoshinsky told the students.
Vladimir Verkhoshinsky also noted that it is important to set specific ambitious goals and plan several steps ahead to achieve them, try to specify your wishes and the means to realize them. The Head of Alfa-Bank stressed the importance of developing emotional intelligence, teamwork and communication with interesting mentors to achieve serious results.
After the lecture, the participants of the meeting asked Vladimir Verkhoshinsky questions about significant skills at the beginning of his career, plans for the development of Alfa-Bank, hobbies and life experience abroad. Vladimir Verkhoshinsky thanked the students for an interesting and constructive dialogue and wished them success.
The results of the dialogue were summed up by Stanislav Prokofiev, FinU Rector. “Today we heard the speech of not just a successful person, but a professional who is doing everything and will do it. We are glad that Vladimir Verkhoshinsky loves and remembers his alma mater and helps its development in many ways,” said the Rector.
